Sometimes it is necessary to deploy a sensor cable array on the ocean floor, for any one of a number of reasons. In the past, sensor arrays have been primarily deployed by laying the array on the surface of the sea floor. This has usually been accomplished by paying the sensor cable array off the stern of a surface ship.
Surface deployments (deploying the cable on the ocean floor surface) are simpler to execute than buried deployments, but these deployments leave the sensors and connection cables extremely susceptible to damage from marine life. The cable array can also be vulnerable to fishing operations such as trawling, and boating operations where the vessel equipment is passed across the ocean floor. It may be advantageous to bury the array to minimize these risks. When underwater cables are buried, the operation typically requires the use of a large plow pulled by a surface craft. This type of operation is effective, but not covert. In some cases it may be desirable to covertly and autonomously bury a sensor array.
In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an autonomous underwater plow that has its own propulsion source. It is another object of the present invention to provide an autonomous underwater plow that can deploy a cable without requiring the assistance of an operator or a support ship. Yet another object of the present invention to provide an autonomous underwater plow that can overcome obstacles on the ocean floor as it deploys a cable payload. Still another object of the present invention to provide an autonomous underwater plow that is easy to assemble in a cost-effective manner. An object of the present invention is to provide an autonomous underwater plow that can deploy a cable payload in the ocean floor by burying the cable but leaving the sensors on the surface of the ocean floor. Another object of the present invention to provide an autonomous underwater plow that can covertly deploy a cable payload without being observed from the water surface.